We have added a Simio add-in that will import a model (objects and links) from a spreadsheet. The most DLL, spreadsheet and code are provided in a later post.. NOTE: You do not need the code to run the add-in. All you need is the ImportObjectsAndLinksFromSpreadsheetAddInDLL_V5.zip and ImportObjectsAndLinks_v5.xlsx. The code is also provided in case you wish to make changes to the add-in.

You can run the addin just using the DLL and spreadsheet. All you need to unzip the DLL into C:\Users\<YOUR USERNAME>\Documents\SimioUserExtensions. You might need to add the SimioUserExtensions under MyDocuments (C:\Users\<YOUR USERNAME>\Documents) in case it does not already exist. Once you run the add-in in Simio, use the attached spreadsheet. It should create a Source, Server, Sink with an Entity and a Vehicle.

If you want to use the code, you will need to update the project properties..under build. The output path needs to be C:\Users\<YOUR USERNAME>\Documents\SimioUserExtensions...See attached screen shot.

Give it a try.

Let us know if you have any questions.

Updated 2106-10-24.....Added support for repeating properties and wrapped import using BulkUpdate method to speed up import .

2) Download the "ImportsObjectsAndLinks.xlsx" and populate it with your model.

3) Extract "ImportObjectsAndLinksFromSpreadsheetAddIn.dll" from the "ImportObjectsAndLinksFromSpreadsheetAddInDLL_V5.zip" into a temp folder (e.g. c:\temp).

4) Right-click the assembly and select properties. Then choose to "unblock" button and press apply. (only needed for Windows 7 and later).

5) Copy "ImportObjectsAndLinksFromSpreadsheetAddIn.dll" into "C:\Users\<YOUR USERNAME>\Documents\SimioUserExtensions". You might need to add the SimioUserExtensions folder under MyDocuments (C:\Users\<YOUR USERNAME>\Documents) if it does not already exist.

6) Open Simio. Create a new Model.

7) From the Project Home...Select Add-In button, select "Load Objects and Links from an external spreadsheet"

We have expanded our API with Simio Version 5....Now we have the ability to add links to networks. This should drastically reduce the time needed to create a network. We also have the ability to modify the size of object through the API. The new files for version 5 are attached to this post.

NOTE: If you are downloading just the assembly, there are couple of extra steps:

1) Extract "ImportObjectsAndLinksFromSpreadsheetAddIn.dll" from the "ImportObjectsAndLinksFromSpreadsheetDLL_V5.zip" into a temp folder (e.g. c:\temp).

2) Right-click the assembly and select properties. Then choose to "unblock" button and press apply. (only needed for Windows 7 and later).

3) Copy the assembly into "C:\Users\<Username>\Documents\SimioUserExtensions"

- The entire model can be imported through the spreadsheet.
- There are 2 sheets; one for objects and one for links.
- The first 12 columns on the objects sheet and first 9 columns on the links sheet are fixed. Don't add / change column name / delete the columns.
- Starting with PropertyA column on both sheets, you can define add / change column name/ delete these columns. The name defined on these columns is associated to the property name on the object; if the property name exists on the object.
- The add-in is also setup to perform updates as well. If an object already exists in the model, the add-in will just update the existing object; not add a new one.

1) There is a new sheet called "Verticies1" to the attached workbook. Using this sheet, you can add multiple vertices to a link.
2) If a link already exists in a model, the import will now deletes and re-adds the link using the new information from the spreadsheet. Previously, links were not updated, only added.
3) If you set a coordinate in the "Objects1" sheet to blank (or not a number), the value will be 0 if the object is being added. If the object is being updated, the coordinates for the object will be ignored and not updated on the object.

Everything you should need is attach to this post.

UPDATED: 2012-06-11.....Fix was made so a top level Repeating Group Property can be updated through the spreadsheet. There is not a mechanism to update the children(except for AssignmentsOnEntering and SecondaryResources repeating groups used by the RPSExample model...See post below).

For those Enterprise users, you can use the spreadsheet import to build an RPS model.

Just copy the attached files into the C:\Users\Public\Documents\Simio\Examples folder.

Then open the RPSExampleForImportBlank.spfx. Use the spreadsheet import to load the objects and links from the RPSExampleImportWithTableData.xlsx (Updated spreadsheet on 2014-07-23 to fix 'LogResourceUsage' column name).

The table data will be imported when you run the model since the data binding on all the tables is set to automatic....

2016-01-27...Removed attachments....With Simio 8, the table structures have changed. We suggest taking a look at the following Simio Scheduling documentation and examples that are provide when you install Simio.

how are we doing with exposing the property which contains the excel file's name used to bind tables...It would be fantastic if we could change ALL tables linking to the same excel file one shot with....

A couple of questions. They might be simple but I am completely new to this and I want to get it right

1. You say "Right-click the assembly and select properties. Then choose to "unblock" button and press apply". Can you tell me where in Simio is the assembly option?
2. Also, can we add properties like type of distribution for each work station (eg: exponential, uniform, etc.) in the excel file? If we can, would that be automatically reflected in simio when we automatically generate the model?
3. Can you give the C# code for this automatic model generation from excel to simio procedure?

1. Which one is the Simio Assembly file that I have to copy? Is it the .exe file?
2. In the excel file, would I be able to change the properties to each workstation like exponential distribution, normal distribution, etc.?

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